Foldable leg construction



1962 M. HARTMAN FOLDABLE LEG CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 16, 1961 United States Patent Ofilice 3,061,391 Patented Oct. 30, 1962 3,061,391 FOLDABLE LEG CONSTRUCTION Lyle M. Hartman, Ohaton, Alberta, Canada Filed Feb. 16, 1961, Ser. No. 89,724 3 Claims. (Cl. 311-99) My invention relates to new and useful improvements in foldable legs for tables, importable musical instruments and the like.

Such articles normally consist of a relatively flimsy leg which is folded outwardly at right angles from the article and locked into position by means of a single brace, when the article is relatively heavy, such foldable legs are insecure and unsteady.

I have overcome this principal disadvantage by providing a light weight leg having a bifurcated end pivotally secured to a base plate secured to the underside of the article and including a rotatable component which can be rotated parallel to the plane of pivotal movement of the leg thus forming a four point brace which rigidly supports the leg and the article mounted thereon. Furthermore the rotatable component can readily be locked into the sup porting position so that it is relatively immovable.

The principal object and essence of my invention is therefore to provide a device of the character herewithin described which provides a relatively rigid supporting leg which nevertheless can readily be folded fiat against the underside of the article it is supporting.

Another object of my invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described which is easily actuated thus making it simple to extend or retract the leg.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described which is particularly suited to be manufactured from die-cast light weight metals.

A yet further object of my invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described in which the entire supporting leg is mounted upon the base plate which in turn may be secured in any desired position upon the article being supported.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described which is simple in construction, economical in manufacture, and otherwise well suited to the purpose for which it is designed.

With the foregoing objects in View, and such other objects and advantages as will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention relates as this specification proceeds, my invention consists essentially in the arrangement and construction of parts all as hereinafter more particularly described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of one of my legs in the supporting position upon the base plate.

FIGURE 2 is a view similar to FIGURE 1 but showing the leg in the folded or retracted position.

FIGURE 3 is an underside View of the leg construction removed from the base plate.

FIGURE 4 is a plan elevation of one end of one of my legs showing one method of retaining same in the stored position.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary side elevation showing the locking means on one of the friction reduction means.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the diiferent figures.

Proceeding therefore to describe my invention in detail, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings in which I have illustrated a base plate consisting of (in this embodiment) four portions 11 situated at right angles from one another. However, it will be appreciated that this base supporting plate can either be square, rectangular or circular as desired. This base plate is adapted to be attached to the underside of the article being supported (not illustrated) by means of screws 12 in the usual manner.

Adjacent the extremities 13 of the two of the diametrically opposite legs 11, I have provided downwardly extending lugs 14 to which the ends 15 of a pair of sub legs 16 are secured to a main cylindrical leg 18 as by welding at 19 and diverge outwardly upon either side of the main leg 18 as clearly shown. By this pivotal attachment, it will be appreciated that the leg :18 may be extended downwardly at right angles to the plate 10 as shown in FIGURE 1 or, alternatively, may be swung upwardly in the direction of arrow 20 to lie parallel with the plate '10 in the stored position against the underside of the article being supported.

Means collectively designated 21 are provided to lock the leg in the downwardly or supporting position shown in FIGURE 1 and take the form of a brace component consisting of a collar 22 rotatably supported upon the main leg 18 below the points of connection 19 of the sub legs 16. This collar 22 is provided with a pair of outwardly diverging, diametrically situated legs 23 secured to the collar and terminating in ends 24 which are adapted to receive friction reduction means in the form of rollers 25 journalled for rotation within the ends 24 by means of the pins 26 and these rollers are adapted to run on the supporting plate 10 when the leg is in the position shown in FIGURE 1.

Transverse braces 27 are secured to the legs 23 adjacent the ends 24 and extend inwardly to be secured to a further collar 28 also rotatably mounted upon the main leg 18 but above the junction 19 of the sub legs 16 thereto.

A transverse brace 29 also extends across the sub legs '16 adjacent the ends 15 in order to strengthen same.

Means collectively designated 30 are mounted upon the supporting plate 10 in order to lock the bracing component into position when in the position shown in FIG- URE 1. Means 36 comprise extending stops 31 secured to the other portions specifically identified 11 of the base against which the rollers 25 engage when the bracing component is rotated into a position so that the legs 23 are parallel to the plane of pivotal movement 20 of the leg which position is shown in FIGURE 1. A turning member 32 mounted on the center of Plate 10 upon pin 33 is provided with rods 34 pivotally secured thereto and extending one upon each side thereof in direction of the stops 31, said rods being slotted as at 35 to move upon fixed pins 36 mounted upon plate 10. The ends 37 of these rods are provided with further stops 38 similar in configuration to the stops 36 and these are designed to engage upon the other sides of the rollers 25 when in the position shown in FIGURE 1 thus locking these rollers and hence the bracing component in position as shown in FIGURE 5. In this embodiment, both of the stops 36 and 38 are curved to engage the sides of the rollers 25 as clearly shown in FIGURE 5.

The undersides of the extremities 39 of the turning component 32 are adapted to pass over projections 40 mounted upon the plate It thus locking the turning component in position to ensure that the stops 38 remain in engagement with the rollers 25 when the leg is in the supporting position.

In operation, the leg is folded downwardly to the position shown in FIGURE 1 whereupon the component 21 is rotated through degrees, the rollers engaging the supporting plate 10 and coming up against the stop 31. The turning component 32 is then actuated thus projecting the stops 38 to the other sides of the rollers 25 thus locking the bracing component firmly in position and giving the four point suspension as clearly shown in FIGURE 1.

When in the folded position, it is desirable to maintain the lower end 18' of the leg 18 against the underside of the article and in this connection a simple shot bolt device 41 may be utilized or any mechanical equivalent thereof.

Since various modifications can be made in my invention as hereinabove described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made within the spirit and scope of the claims without departing from such spirit and scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A foldable leg construction for articles adapted selectively to be extended downwardly therefrom in a locked, supporting position and to be swung upwardly against said article in the stored position; said construction comprising in combination a supporting plate securable to said article, a supporting leg pivotally secured by one end thereof to said plate whereby said leg can be extended at right angles from said plate or stored parallel with said plate, a brace component having at least two legs rotatably mounted on said leg end, the ends of said two legs having friction reduction means mounted thereon and engaging said plate when said leg is in the supporting position, and means on said plate selectively to lock said two legs in position upon said plate when said two legs are turned at substantially 90 degrees to the plane of pivotal movement of said leg, said supporting leg including a pair of sub legs secured by one end thereof to said supporting leg but spaced from said end and diverging outwardly therefrom diametrically upon each side thereof, said supporting leg being pivotally secured to said plate by the other ends of said sub legs, said brace component being rotatably mounted on said supporting leg below said sub legs and including transverse braces secured by one end thereof to said legs of said brace component and by the other ends thereof to a collar rotatable on said supporting leg above the points of attachment of said sub legs thereto.

2. The device according to claim 1 in which said means selectively to lock said two legs in position upon said plate comprises a stop mounted one upon each side of said plate diametrically opposite one another against which one side of said friction reduction means engages when said leg is in the supporting position and movable stop means mounted on said plate and being selectively engageable with the other side of said friction reduction means.

3. A foldable leg construction for articles adapted selectively to be extended downwardly therefrom in a locked, supporting position and to be swung upwardly against said article in the stored position; said construction comprising in combination a supporting plate securable to said article, a supporting leg pivotally secured by one end thereof to said plate whereby said leg can be extended at right angles from said plate or stored parallel with said plate, a brace component having at least two legs rotatably mounted on said leg end, the ends of said two legs having friction reduction means mounted thereon and engaging said plate when said leg is in the supporting position, and means on said plate selectively to lock said two legs in position upon said plate when said two legs are turned at substantially 90 degrees to the plane of pivotal movement of said leg, said supporting leg including a pair of sub legs secured by one end thereof to said supporting leg but spaced from said end and diverging outwardly therefrom diametrically upon each side thereof, said supporting leg being pivotally secured to said plate by the other ends of said sub legs, said means selectively to lock said two legs in position upon said plate comprising a stop mounted one upon each side of said plate diametrically opposite one another against which one side of said friction reduction means engages when said leg is in the supporting position and movable stop means mounted on said plate and being selectively engageable with the other side of said friction reduction means.

References 'Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,003,008 Perl May 28, 1935 2,391,861 Bellows Jan. 1, 1946 2,743,147 Howard Apr. 24, 1956 2,970,024 Urban Jan. 31, 1961 

